


Gentle the Rage Within Him

by princessmartell



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Loss of Virginity, only mentions sex no smut for you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-07
Updated: 2013-07-07
Packaged: 2017-12-18 00:50:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/873816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessmartell/pseuds/princessmartell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short exploration as to what may have been, had Sandor refused the white cloak and Joffrey ended his betrothal to Sansa prior to the Battle of Blackwater.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gentle the Rage Within Him

It is during her second year at court that she begins to really see him. Later she will laugh at the realization that the prince became the monster and who she thought was the monster should be her prince, but she cannot bring herself to admit it to anyone but herself. But no matter; she sees Sandor underneath the Hound, sees that this is a man whose entire life has been driven by hate and fear.

She understands better than anyone will ever recognize. She hates the Lannisters but is fearful that they will kill her and her entire family. She is more similar to Sandor Clegane, but while he wears all of his scars on the outside, she must hide hers within and bury them; for while it is one thing for a big man with a sword to mock the court, it is quite another for a helpless little girl to do so. Yet, she sees clearly why he rejects the white cloak given to him; he is fearful of what his brother will do, fearful that one night he will crack under the pressure of it all and he does not want to stain everything in his path.

She cannot call it true love, for it does not resemble the songs and even now, after everything, she still hopes for the songs to become true. She hesitates at calling it love at all, but refers to it as a quiet understanding between the two of them, a sort of admiration for surviving. But on the night of the Battle of the Blackwater, shortly after her betrothal to Joffrey has been broken, he comes to her and asks her to bring her maids (Lannister fools, all of them, but unable to lie to save their lives, and they all know it), and meet him in the godswood shortly. Sansa does not know why she obeys, but she does. When she arrives, he hands her a cloak with a direwolf stitched onto it, and it is in that moment she understands what he means to do. “Sandor,” she begins, but he cuts her off with a “hush, little bird, you’ll be alright now” and they say their vows in front of a septon (how in the seven hells Sandor was able to find one so quickly escapes her, but later she will be grateful), and he replaces her direwolf with three hounds. She cries when he kisses her, but they are tears of gratitude and happiness, and she knows he sees that in her eyes. She thinks she sees a glimpse of it in return; gratitude that she is not afraid of him, that someone understands him better than he can understand himself.

Really, much planning had to have gone into this, but Sansa cannot be bothered to worry about that at the moment because she is free, Joffrey will not touch her, not when Sandor is protecting her. Later that night he whispers against her skin “I can keep you safe” and she thought she would be nervous about losing her maidenhead but it is all quite exciting if only because it is so forbidden. In a few days, they will leave for his keep, his since Gregor took the white cloak he tossed aside and cannot inherit, and she hopes that no one will disturb their quiet peace there. He knows no one will dare, because no one knows where their lands are and their marriage is very much consummated, and even Tywin Lannister, who has the High Septon in his back pocket, will not be able to undo it.

No longer can she be used as a pawn in the game of thrones, because as of right now, she is Lady Clegane, and holds little power. The Lannisters cannot control him, would not dare to try, and there is very little honor and sense in starting a civil war among Lannister bannerman. As word spreads of Joffrey’s treatment of her and that no one else from House Lannister did anything, more and more of the houses in the Westerlands write to Sandor (he may not be as alone as he would like, but ravens can fly anywhere and he hopes it is just a gamble), saying that they will support him should it come to a war between himself and the Lannisters. It is then that he knows he will be able to keep his little bird safe.

Later, when they are all dead, everyone except for the few who have been spared (the Lannisters are gone, as are her parents and her oldest brother), she will become the Queen Regent of the North until Rickon reaches his sixteenth name day, and Sandor will help her rule and keep them all safe as he tries not to freeze to death in this wasteland. Their children, Minisa, Edwyle, and Jeyne, run through the halls of Winterfell and he sees the North in their bones.

Sandor promised to himself that no harm would come to Sansa, and though he does not understand why, he reminds himself that a Hound will die for you but never lie to you. He will keep his word, has kept his word. There are no more Lannisters, save Tyrion, and he would never raise a hand against House Stark.  
Sandor does not understand why he chose that night ten years ago, but he is glad he did. He is glad he decided to do something out of the songs, glad that he and his wife were able to find love eventually, and glad for their children. Life was not a song, but all he needs to see is the quiet understanding in Sansa’s eyes to see that she appreciates everything they’ve gone through. He knows that the songs were not meant for the likes of them.

Somewhere along the way, he forgave Gregor, because if it were not for his scars, he would not have understood Sansa, and she would not have understood him. The rage gentled within him over the course of his marriage, and he saw the quiet rage within her disappear as well. They have each other, they have their children, and they have their heads. As Sansa slips into his bed and whispers to him that they may be able to leave soon, that Arya will be home and has agreed to take over for Sansa so long as she gets to wed her blacksmith, newly legitimized as the heir to Storm’s End, Sandor knows that is enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been re-reading the books and I just want Sansa to be happy and I've been on a SanSan kick so yeah.  
> It's short, but it wasn't meant to be long anyway. Maybe I'll add onto it. probably not.


End file.
